Txtr ereader reportedly erased

It seems the ereader market may be a little less crowded than we expected, with word that the German txtr device has been abandoned by parent company Txtr. According to an ex-employee speaking to The Digital Reader, the txtr - which was due to be launched earlier in the year, considerably later than initially promised - has been quietly ditched while the company attempts to work on its software ebookstore business.

The txtr was initially being positioned as particularly developer friendly, with an open API and publicly-released details about the hardware and software the company was using. Unfortunately that ambitious plan encountered problems along the way, with Txtr deleting WiFi from the hardware list back in 2009.

According to TDR's source, Txtr is currently attempting to salvage its place in the software ebookstore market, and facing strong competition from rivals. Now, with no official confirmation from the company itself we can't assume the txtr is dead, but with it failing to show at the Frankfurt Book Fair earlier this year, as had been promised, it's not looking hopeful.